Series VIII Thomas Hayes

The Thomas Hayes Papers range in date from 1814 to 1855. There are 37 items in this series which are categorized as Family Correspondence Received (20 items), Non-Family Correspondence (13 items), and Bills/Receipts (4 items). The family letters range in date from 1814 to 1838. The first letters which date to 1814 and 1815 were letters written to Thomas at Boston by all members of the family when he was a midshipman at the Boston Navy yard. Later letters would contain news of his courtship and marriage to Susan Bainbridge. The Non-Family Correspondence Received includes business letters stemming from his maritime career and his appointment to Naval Agent for the government. Thomas Hayes captained the family vessels such as the Tontine and the Emma, also working for the family along with Isaac Austin Hayes and Patrick Barry Hayes. Between 1841 and 1849, financial problems over salary due culminated in a lawsuit, United States vs. Thomas Hayes, Naval Agent. This matter is discussed in papers that date to the 1840s and another in 1855. Notably, the papers contain no letters from Susan Bainbridge to her husband.